Best way to land an entry-level job in Chicago? (hotel, job market)

[Duder142]

Here's my situation...I am pretty much taking a huge risk and will be moving to Chicago in three days with no job, few friends, and about $5000. I am college educated, but only have been working low paying administrative jobs since graduation in December of 2008. I would eventually like to go back to school, but need to save some money first. My interests lie in music, fashion, art, design, academia, nonprofit, etc. My undergrad is just a liberal arts degree, and I have been applying online for the past two months for jobs in Chicago within these fields, but haven't had much luck due to my inexperience. I know online isn't the best way to land a gig, so what would be my best option as far as gaining employment? Just walk around and meet people in hopes of networking? Any advice is appreciated, maybe some mental motivation as well, as I am nervous and terrified!

[Swisha2k]

Originally Posted by Duder142

Here's my situation...I am pretty much taking a huge risk and will be moving to Chicago in three days with no job, few friends, and about $5000. I am college educated, but only have been working low paying administrative jobs since graduation in December of 2008. I would eventually like to go back to school, but need to save some money first. My interests lie in music, fashion, art, design, academia, nonprofit, etc. My undergrad is just a liberal arts degree, and I have been applying online for the past two months for jobs in Chicago within these fields, but haven't had much luck due to my inexperience. I know online isn't the best way to land a gig, so what would be my best option as far as gaining employment? Just walk around and meet people in hopes of networking? Any advice is appreciated, maybe some mental motivation as well, as I am nervous and terrified!

^^^Basically... also, LinkedIn is you friend.

I've been in the exact same situation as yourself 3 months ago. What I did was network my ass off on LinkedIn.

Here was my approach: I emailed a few (about 25) "decision makers" on Linkedin directly. I basically told each of them that I would work for free/intern and that I would add value to the company in any way that I could. Within my 25th email blast, I was offered a volunteer position at a hotel (mind you, I was still in Miami). I flew out of FL and arrived in Chicago the week after I accepted the offer. About a month into the "internship", I was offered a full-time position...

Moral of the story... Network, Network, and then network some more. Work for free if you have to; most employers will hire you after you've proven yourself (or they'll get you an interview with someone that can help you). Try to get as close to the decision maker as possible then sell yourself.

[hxcobd]

I moved here with much less money than you did and arguably less planning ahead.

It's all about utilizing your resources to amp up your resume and cover letters, and just apply like mad. I was applying to about 5 jobs per day from the day I got here, writing really thought-out cover letters for each one. By my second week here in the city, I had had about 10 callbacks, but had already accepted one of the first offers I got.

Been here about 6 weeks now and I'm working as an IT Director full-time, making low/mid-5 figures.

The job market here is actually quite decent compared to other areas of the country. If you know your **** and hit the ground running, you'll find something quickly.

[tb4000]

Know somebody that knows somebody. Or look for entry-level sales/account manager type roles with corporations...they usually don't have too stringent of prerequisites.

[lenniel]

If you have the time and initiative, make a list of companies you'd like to work for, spend time finding the director's name of the dept you'd like to work in (not that hard to do, just call, be creative) and get their email. EM that person directly, tell them you'll be in the neighborhood/building and you'd like to stop by just to briefly introduce yourself, 30 seconds of their time max. You're goal is to generate enought interest from this person to get them to want to spend more than 30 seconds with you.
Going to HR is like dropping resumes from a helicopter and hoping one lands on a desk somewhere.

[chris0681]

I'm going through the same situation, although I dont want to just move without a job, I want to try to find a job from northern lower Michigan, about 6 hours away... is that an impossible thing to do? Its pretty hard to interview from that distance, should I just move without a job? I do have unemployment if I choose to go on that. Ive been out of college since 06, after 6 yrs of college, and now have over 3 years with a company as an office manager/admin assistant, with a bachelors in business admin. I feel like websites like careerbuilder just get overloaded with so many resumes that its not the best idea to just apply on those.

[faintlyamused]

I moved to Chicago under similar circumstances back in September '09 and the best luck I've had with finding a job was working with a temp agency.

[Citybythelake]

Originally Posted by chris0681

...I do have unemployment if I choose to go on that. Ive been out of college since 06, after 6 yrs of college, and now have over 3 years with a company as an office manager/admin assistant...

How would you be able to draw unemployment if you relocate and quit your job?

[Citybythelake]

Originally Posted by Duder142

...I would eventually like to go back to school, but need to save some money first...Any advice is appreciated, maybe some mental motivation as well, as I am nervous and terrified!

Now is the time to go back to school.

[chris0681]

I can draw unemployment because i work for a construction company office, and they can lay me off and I can draw unemployment, and move if I want to. Anyway my question was, should I move or try to interview for a business job 6 hours away? Seems like I pretty much have to move first..its hard to network and land a job without being there.